Courage
by missalohahula
Summary: "Courage is found in unlikely places." And as Eric took in the sight of her - chin raised in defiance, feet planted firmly and beautiful eyes daring him to make his next move - he knew she had found her courage. He had never thought that it would be against him. Story starts before Eric's choosing. Slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Courage**

 **Rating:** M

 **Summary:** And as Eric took in the sight of her - chin raised in defiance, feet planted firmly and beautiful eyes daring him to make his next move - he knew she had found her courage. He had never thought that it would be against him.

 **Notes:**  
\- Starts before Eric's choosing.  
\- Initiation age is 18.  
\- Follows the same OCs in my Differentiate/Contrast stories.

 **Disclaimer:**  
Veronica Roth owns Divergent and characters within. OCs are property of missalohahula.

* * *

 **"Don't give up all your romance... A little bit is a good thing. Not too much, of course, but keep a little of it." - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables**

Eric never enjoyed the first seminar of the day. He always believed that grouping the students together - from different factions - were disruptive to the learning process. Of course, that learning process wouldn't matter. At least not this year. This year he was given another task - one that his mother and Aunt strongly believed in. He sat down quietly writing formulas in his attempt to drown out the nonsense that was strolling into the room.

Unfortunately for him it hadn't completely worked. Muffled giggles could still be heard. In fact, they appeared to be getting louder. A soft body bumped into his side, causing his arm to jerk, the formula now ruined. His perfectly formed numbers and words were all askew.

"I'm so sorry," a girl's voice stated.

Eric bit the bottom of his lip. "It's alright," his hand tightened momentarily on the pen before he grabbed the paper and stood up to throw it away.

"I hope you forgive me and my friends for ruining your chemical displacement theory," her voice followed him.

It was an Amity that much he could tell - especially from the cheerful tone and smell of flowers in the air that followed the girl. However, what caught him off guard was the fact that she stated something along with her apology. Eric turned around to see the girl standing before him. Yes, she was an Amity - the dark red skirt was unlike any other color he had seen girls from Amity using. Her white blouse fitted her form. And what a glorious form she had, Eric thought as his eyes roamed her body.

Her long brown hair fell around her face and he spotted a pink flower behind her ear. Her brown eyes sparked innocence and curiosity. And her smile. He understood why artists and writers had been so captured with the painting of a woman's smile. Originally Eric had thought the notion to be frivolous. But there was something behind this girl's smile - something so mysterious and unknown, something untouched and untamed. She looked lovely.

White, he shook his head. Why was an Amity using a white blouse?

"It's a little early don't you think to be working on your displacement theory," she asked.

Eric shook his head again and looked down to see her hand gesturing to the paper clenched in his. He had momentarily forgotten that this bewitching person caused him to make an error. He should have been upset with her, he was upset with her. But one look into her eyes and he had forgotten. And was she talking about displacement? How would she know what he was writing?

"I've heard that the reaction - if negative - should be changed. May I see your work," she took the paper from his hand and began to unfold it.

Eric thought it was the most exquisite thing he had ever seen. Her eyes took in every word and number he had written. And before he knew it she was speaking to him again. The only problem was that he couldn't hear what she was saying - totally mesmerized by the way her lips moved as she spoke or how her eyes squinted in concentration. Every muscle that ticked on her face, her cheeks, her lips - she was something out of a romance novel. Not that he had ever read one. But he had often wondered how a male could describe a female's anatomy as something alluring. He found the answer.

"Class, take your seats."

The Amity smiled politely at the teacher before turning her attention back to him. "Well, I wanted to apologize again. My friends were being a little giddy. There's a lot to occupy the mind, especially since this year we will be choosing," she prompted. "Don't you think?"

From what Eric could gather, she wanted to have a conversation with him. He opened his mouth and found that he couldn't form a single intelligent response. Why was he suddenly speechless?

"Please take your seats," the teacher appeared next to them. Eric looked over to see that it was Jeanine Matthews. He gave her a nod and turned to look at the Amity. But when he returned she was already walking back to her seat. "Mr. Coulter?"

"Yes, ma'am," Eric mumbled and went back to his seat.

He turned around to see the Amity girl talking to the other girls she had entered the classroom with. He had never seen her before. Actually, he had never noticed any girl before until now. What was it about her that had captured his interest, had piqued his curiosity, enslaved his thoughts?

Looking back down at his desk he noticed that the paper sat there, placed in a way that he could only assume she attempted to take out the crinkles he had made. He touched the paper before turning to look at her once more. The Amity girl was looking straight at him, a soft smile on her lips as she blushed - actually blushed in his direction. He never found anything so delightful as the tint on her cheeks.

"Mr. Coulter?"

Eric turned back to the front of the classroom only to see Miss Matthews standing in front of him.

"You will speak to me after class for your lack of interest in what we are learning about. Now," she turned on her heels and walked back to her podium without waiting for a response from him. Not that she needed one, he thought as he glanced at his Aunt before returning back to his paper.

The teaching was basic knowledge - at least to Eric's standards, and possibly a few other Erudite kids, judging from their bored expressions. Normally the itinerary for the hour consisted of Faction history. It always did. Miss Matthews enjoyed conversing about the negative and positive attributes of not just the faction system but also the various factions. Eric had heard it many times. It wasn't necessarily 'dinner-conversation', but the topic of the faction system was definitely his Aunt's conversation.

He waited patiently, continuing to write in his notebook before he noticed a few glass tablets were placed on the certain students' desk. He - and a good percentage of the Erudite children - had been given a glass tablet. A new form of technology that was to revolutionize the city and how people communicated or stored massive amounts of information. A couple Dauntless and Candor students had also been given the glass tablet. No Abnegation - surprise, surprise. But to Eric's shock and joy, one certain Amity student had been given a tablet. She clutched it tightly to her chest as her friends marveled at her.

"As I've stated earlier, every student with a tablet has been selected by the educators here to further the learning process," Miss Matthews stated. "You are the future of this City, the future of your faction. Knowledge is power. I will see those select few at my noon session and afternoon seminar. Class is dismissed."

Eric stayed in his seat as all the students began to file out. He looked towards his Aunt to see her staring at him with a pinched expression. He had done something wrong.

Just as he went to stand, a hand fell on his shoulder. Looking up, his eyes met the Amity. A brilliant, excited smile was on her face.

"So, I guess this means that I'll see you at noon. Perhaps we could get an early lunch. I'd really like to hear more about your displacement theory." She paused and rolled her eyes. "Of course, I don't enjoy working with serums - which sounds odd for me to say, since I am an Amity. But it would be interesting to learn more about your idea for upgrading serums. We always seem to be on the brink of advancement," she held the tablet, shifting it in her hand before clutching it back to her chest as though it were a lifeline for her. "I truly feel honored that I've been hand-picked by the..."

"Miss Summers."

The Amity turned, and the spell was broken. "Yes, Miss Matthews," she replied before looking over her shoulder at Eric one last time. She smiled politely at him. "I'll speak with you later."

His eyes followed her as she walked - more like glided about the room. Was she promising him that they would meet? What did that even mean? Was she engaging him in some sort of social norm that he was expected to follow? He wanted to follow, he thought.

And just as Miss Matthews cleared her throat, the Amity walked pass his desk and out of the classroom. The scent of her lingered briefly before it disappeared completely. The smell of books and machine now occupied the room in her absence. He missed her already.

"No attachments."

Eric turned back to his Aunt and nodded.

"Your mother and I discussed this with you at length. You know my plan, what I need, what is required to get done, why we are..."

"I understand, Aunt," Eric interrupted. She pressed her lips in annoyance and Eric cleared his throat before standing. "The Amity was merely having a conversation with me. There was nothing else."

His Aunt smiled. However, it became apparent the reason for her look a second later. "The male body responds to female persuasion sometimes with just a touch, other times," he gestured to his pants. Eric glanced down to see that his body had experienced a hormonal arousal because of the Amity. "Other times all it takes is just a look. The eyes can deceive you. She's just another pretty face, Eric. Don't be fooled by some silly romantic notion," her voice was firm.

"Yes, ma'am," Eric shifted, the arousal significantly decreasing under his Aunt's scrutiny.

"I don't want this family to fail all because of another distraction."

* * *

JoyAnna walked into the library, her eyes scanning the room before her. Finally, they settled on a group of Erudite. Their blue clothing attire was hard to ignore. The library was often filled with Erudite, so naturally the sight of her walking inside had caused a slight stir. Her brother Jordan would incite a ruckus by his entrance into the library when he was still attending school. It came to no surprise that he had defected to Erudite.

Perhaps the others were wondering - making assumption about her as well. She smiled politely at everyone and continued to walk towards the group of blue-clad individuals. One of the girls paused as they spotted her, indicating her presence to the others at the table with a blink of her eye and a nod of her head.

"Forgive me for intruding, and I hope that I don't appear rude in my asking," JoyAnna began as a few of them smiled at her apology. Typical Amity behavior, she supposed they were guessing. "I was hoping that one of you could point me in the direction of where I could locate a Mr. Coulter."

Majority of the Erudite crowd looked at one another in shock.

"And what would you need with Eric, tree-hugger?"

"Calm down, Hera," one of the other girls teased her good-naturedly before turning back to JoyAnna. "She meant no harm. But the question still remains, what do you need Eric for? I didn't think that he socialized much with those," her eyes roamed JoyAnna's attire dismissively, "outside of Erudite."

"We have a few lessons together and I was hoping to discuss some of the material the teacher gave us."

"Eric in Amity seminars," one of them whispered in a scandalized tone.

"Surely, his mother - or even his _Aunt_ \- would have placed him in advanced..."

"Hush," the first girl - whom JoyAnna could only assume was named Hera - chastised the two gossipers before she stood slowly to study JoyAnna. "Eric doesn't take any seminars on agriculture. Surely you're mistaken."

"I am not," JoyAnna lifted her chin in the air as Hera's eyes widened. "I have lessons on chemicals, sociology and statistics. Mr. Coulter is in those lessons and I wanted to have a word with him."

The way that the group studied her, she was certain that they didn't believe a word that she was saying. Surprisingly another young Erudite - one that she had seen in their lessons - crossed the library and nodded in her direction.

"I can vouch for Miss Summers attending those seminars," she replied before stepping closer to JoyAnna. "Miss Matthews won't take kindly to an Amity seeking out her nephew. You've been trying to talk to him all day," she said in a soft tone so that the others wouldn't hear. "I believe that his Aunt sent him home for study hall."

JoyAnna nodded in understanding. She glanced around the table to see the group of girls straining to hear the conversation she was having with one of their associates. "Thank you for being so helpful. I will leave you all to your studying. Peace be..."

"With us, we know," Hera finished before shaking her head and looking down at her book.

JoyAnna quickly exited the library finding herself in distress at not being able to locate Eric. She just wanted to apologize for this morning. Then, when she discovered that he was in the rest of her lessons, she couldn't contain her enthusiasm. He was adorable - in an awkward, sensible, intelligent sort of way. And she was interested in his theories and ideas.

During their statistics lesson, she sat down next to him and proceeded to question him about his numbers and then had him correct her numbers. She could have sworn that she saw him smile impressively at her work. She couldn't understand why she was suddenly desperate for the approval of someone she had just met - who wasn't even a family member or a faction member. But he intrigued her.

And then when it became apparent that he would be present during her other lessons, she smiled with excitement. Here was a person that she could finally talk to about all the things that was on her mind. Serenity and Felicity couldn't understand her. And Hannah often reproached her when she prattled about nonsense. JoyAnna was described as being too opinionated and too stubborn. Those weren't traits befitting a good Amity wife, Hannah often explained - with a gentle heart of course.

"Why do you look so down," a voice caught her attention. She turned to see Gregory sitting on a bench.

"First day at school. I'm sad it's over," she shrugged.

Gregory laughed and shook his head. "There are at least a few months left for you to enjoy before your choosing day." He took something from his pouch, twirled it around his shoulders before tossing it in her direction. She caught it, smiling that he was sharing a mango with her.

"I didn't know that these were still available," she replied, stepping forward to sit by him on the bench. "Thank you."

"I packed it since I had to travel into the City today for work," he explained in a tone that said he was attempting to intimidate her. The notion wasn't lost, and it caused JoyAnna's cheeks to warm. Of course, not in the same way that it did when Eric Coulter had looked at her.

She shook her head before thanking Gregory again.

"Anytime, JoyAnna," he smiled softly before standing and gesturing for her to join him.

They walked back to Amity having pleasant conversation - and probably standing a bit too close for something that could have been considered appropriate. After all, Gregory was nineteen years old - the same age as her brother Jordan. She had noticed that Gregory had been calling on their family lately. At first, she decided that it was because of Jordan's departure. Everyone felt it - especially since Jordan wasn't the first of her brothers to defect. But now, she could only assume there was another reason for Gregory's visits.

"Are you alright?"

Her head turned towards him and she nodded. "I was just thinking on something that happened today at school."

She looked away quickly, amazed that a lie had slipped from her lips so quickly and easily. Well, she thought, she definitely wasn't Candor. Gregory kept the conversation short and on topics that were safe - at least in JoyAnna's mind. Although, she desperately wanted to talk of other matters.

Thankfully Gregory didn't stay long when he dropped her off at home, which allowed for her to mull over the incident with the Erudite boy. Perhaps she was too talkative for him. May haps he felt her conversation wasn't intelligent enough for him. And if that was the case, she definitely wanted to improve on the subject. After preparing a dish for supper, she hurried to the backyard to a spot under one of the trees to read a book she had received from one of the teachers.

The material wasn't difficult to grasp. In fact, JoyAnna was enjoying it thoroughly until her brother Jack called her in. She quickly picked up the books and papers that she had unknowingly scattered around her. Smiling, she took in the last assignment and remembered that she had yet to speak to the Erudite boy - Eric Coulter, she had learned was his name.

"JoyAnna," Jack chastised gently as he caught her daydreaming outside.

If only he knew, she thought before placing her papers into her books and hurrying inside. Before she could dash up to her room, Jack pulled out one of the books. "Jack," she began but he looked at her curiously. "It's for class."

"Statistics," he questioned.

JoyAnna took the book back and tucked it with the others under her arm. "We need to know numbers in order to plant and grow food."

Jack sighed and nodded.

Other than that little - rather short - discussion with her brother, no one else had brought up school during dinner. Hannah had been coming over regularly. And if she wasn't over at their house, then Jack would eat dinner with Hannah's family. It was obvious that soon Hannah and Jack would be announcing their engagement soon. It made JoyAnna think about Jonathan and Jordan. What were the girls like in Erudite? What was courtship like in Erudite? Perhaps tomorrow she could discuss it with Eric.

Unfortunately for her, Eric wasn't talkative the next day. He would blink at her as if he was still shocked - or impressed, which she really hoped that he was - that she could converse about difficult topics.

"Hey Eric," she called after they left the first lesson.

He paused and looked around the hall before his eyes landed on her.

"I was hoping that we'd walk to our next lesson together," she was being rather forward. The shock was evident on his face when his eyes widened, and he looked around again. "Forgive me, I just thought that we could talk some more."

His only response was to look deep in thought, as if it was an arduous decision.

"Or if you didn't want to, then I completely understand. I went to the library to look for you and talk to you about Lieutenant Max's lesson. I noticed that there were only a handful of us that weren't Dauntless in the class and I wanted your opinion on the syllabus."

She paused and then took in his horrified expression when she mentioned that she had looked for him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sought you out. I was just..."

Eric shook his head and offered her a small smile. JoyAnna could only assume that she had been forgiven.

"So, on to the next lesson?"

He nodded, and his smile widened slightly before he held up his arm, gesturing down the hall towards their next lesson. She wasn't sure what prompted her to, but she smiled brightly, looped her arm with his and pulled him down the hallway.

"I'm so glad that we had this opportunity to talk. Or rather, I've been talking. Either way, I'm still glad. Anyway," JoyAnna began.

She prattled on about her incident in the library, explaining how rather ghastly a couple of the girls from Erudite had behaved. Then she quickly apologized because she shouldn't have been speaking ill of anyone - especially anyone that he might have been close friends with. She noted that he was rather shy and reserved, but she didn't mind it at all. She would read his facial cues and she would take that as a response. Over the next few days their friendship had blossomed - at least in her mind it did.

* * *

JoyAnna Summers would walk into the classroom and it was like nothing else existed. Although Eric knew that was highly impossible. There were so much other things that existed other than this wonderful Amity girl that gave him a thrill. She would always come in and prattle on about how beautiful the morning's sunrise was in her backyard. She had watched the sky 'ablaze with an aluminous dance'.

She always would mention something that made Eric think that she was the most enchanting and perceptive person he had ever met. She was a distraction - a lively, entertaining, arousing distraction. There were a few occasions that he found himself undressing her in his mind. Lately, his eyes would roam her form with appreciation. He had not known what had come over him. His body reacted to her more than it had with anyone else.

"She's dangerous to our plans," his Aunt reminded him the third time he had walked with her out of their first seminar. "You may not feel the effects now, but you will in time. And in the end, you'll realize just how ridiculous and absurd your attempt at seeking a thrill would have been. Get rid of her."

But he found that he couldn't. And after a few days of walking her to their next lesson had turned into weeks, and those weeks of walking and sitting together had turned into a couple months of routine companionship, he found that he couldn't end his friendship with her - at least he was hoping that they were friends.

He never responded or talked to her. It's not like he couldn't get a word in because she always would pause and allow for a response. Eric found that he couldn't bring himself to interrupt her. He enjoyed listening to her, being with her.

And every day he'd sit down at his desk, waiting for her to walk in. But today she hadn't, and class had already started. He glanced at the small group of Amity girls that she normally walked in with. Two of them had looked his way and offered him a smile before turning their attention back to the front.

Where was JoyAnna?

Eric breathed an impatient sigh. He was hoping that his Aunt would hurry class along today. But for some reason time seemed to drag on without JoyAnna's presence next to him - of course in her own desk and in her own chair. That changed in the seminars that followed because two of those seminars actually had Eric and JoyAnna sharing tables.

"You're going to be my partner," she had decided. And he hadn't refused.

But when the class was over, and she still hadn't shown, he was truly concerned. He wanted to approach the girls from Amity - the same way that she had approached Hera, Rachel and Barbara. Instead, he found that he couldn't - he was too afraid. He lacked the courage.

Eric paused and allowed them to walk out, berating himself for being such an idiot.

"Eric, right?"

He turned around and spotted a girl - a pretty girl. But to him, she was nothing like JoyAnna. Her hair was an attractive, deep red. He found that he loved JoyAnna's chocolate waves and the way they framed her dusted, seductive eyes. This girl was dressed in black - Dauntless black. He eyed her with contempt before moving away.

"Hey pal, I was talking to you," she grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," he stopped and briskly moved himself away from her. "And I'm not your pal."

"You got that right," she rolled her eyes. "But I know someone who is and from the looks of it, she needs a friend."

Eric stopped and quickly looked back at the Dauntless girl. What was she talking about?

She shook her head again, laughing lightly. "My name is Shauna Rodriguez. I'm in like three of the same classes as you."

"Like," he questioned. "You either are or you're not."

Rolling her eyes for the second time, she punched softly at his shoulder. "You know what I mean, you nose. Anyways, I've seen you and the Amity - JoyAnna, I believe is her name. Anyone would have to factionless if they didn't see the two of you and your chemistry together," she nudged him.

Eric wasn't sure how to react to the sudden physical closeness of the Dauntless girl.

"We don't have chemistry. The scientific seminars we take are biology and..."

She laughed - like a real laugh. It really irritated Eric. "Not that, silly. Chemistry as in an attraction to one another," she looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. "For someone so smart, I can't believe you didn't pick up on that."

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you just insulted me."

"It wasn't an insult. Okay, so maybe it was a little one," she made her fingers really close as if she was pinching something. "But I saw JoyAnna with the other Amity this morning, she was talking to someone and the conversation didn't look pleasant."

For all the nonsense she was making, Eric was glad that she had brought up JoyAnna. He hurried to stand right in front of her, worried that the action might frighten her. But the girl was Dauntless and looked unencumbered by his sudden forwardness.

"Where were they?"

"At the side, where the Amity catch the wagon. It almost looked like they were arguing."

Eric dashed away - well as fast of a getaway that he believed he could do. Shauna, however, was able to catch up to him.

"I walked her to the bathroom because she was crying."

Crying? Why was she crying? Without having to ask, Shauna began to reply that JoyAnna had started courting - something he briefly remembered she brought up last week. Well, apparently the courtship was over rather quickly, and she felt like a failure, like she had done something wrong. JoyAnna could do no wrong in Eric's book, though. His heart was aching to see her, comfort her.

Eric remembered that day vividly. The boy's name was Gregory. And when JoyAnna had mentioned that he had asked her to start courting, she had looked at Eric expectantly. Maybe she wanted him to object. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part. He had never met Gregory, but he hated the guy instantly. He had never known such an intense feeling before. At least nothing like this before he had met JoyAnna. But for the past couple months, she had truly become someone that he cared about. And he knew that he couldn't start anything like a 'courtship' with her, not when they were in other factions. And especially not when his Aunt considered her a distraction.

A part of him was glad that the courtship was over. Although he was also greatly disturbed that it was causing her such pain. Perhaps, JoyAnna cared for Gregory the same way that Eric cared for her. That's when he realized that someone like JoyAnna would never be attracted to him - not some Erudite. She'd want someone kind and compassionate like an Amity. But this example of her broken heart was confusing him more and more with each second.

"There," Shauna gestured out of the building. "She said that she would just wait outside by some tree," she shrugged.

Eric didn't understand the fascination with trees either, but he didn't delve further on the topic. He thanked Shauna with a brief nod and ventured out. Goodness gracious, what would Miss Jeanine Matthews say of her nephew now as he walked out of the school building and made his way out of it? He was going to be absent from his seminars. This was totally against the rules.

He paused mid-step on the last step and then shook his head. This was for JoyAnna. He glanced back one last time to see a shocked expression on Shauna's face, disbelief written all over it that an Erudite would willingly leave behind education.

Eric puffed up his chest, pushed his glasses back and walked determinedly out towards the fields.

Skin sweating and mind racing, he finally stumbled across a tree where JoyAnna's bag had been hanging on a low branch. He looked around quickly before hearing soft sobs. JoyAnna was up in the tree.

Without thinking of the consequences of his actions, he climbed up the tree after her. It took him a while and he slipped every now and then. Obviously, this was a physics problem he thought in his head as he tried not to calculate the chances of him falling to his death.

"Eric," JoyAnna gasped and wiped her face quickly when she spotted him. "What are you doing here? Surely you have lessons?"

He looked up at her, those beautiful brown eyes with sadness in them. And it struck him then that he couldn't form a sentence around her. Why was he so frightened and nervous to talk to her? Talking to Shauna was no Herculean task. But here he was, with his chance to say something comforting, and he couldn't come up with nothing but a smile.

She smiled in reply before wiping her face yet again. She held out her arm and helped pull him towards the branch she was sitting on.

When he finally got situated, she leaned against him making his heart beat to life. He let his chin rest against her hair as she began to cry once more. "Stay with me," she said as her arms held onto him.

He wanted to ask her what had happened between her and Gregory. But feeling her so close to him made him forget about everything - and just like that he was back to believing that nothing else existed.

Eric leaned back against the trunk of the tree and pulled her closely into him. He didn't reply. Instead he just held her - held her the way that he had seen a few Dauntless and Amity holding one another. She smelled so wonderful. Her tears stained his shirt, but Eric found that he just didn't care. All that mattered was that they were together again. And all seemed alright in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**"I'm trying to observe young love in it's many-splendored awkwardness." - John Green, The Fault in Our Stars**

JoyAnna looked over her work only to come face to face with Eric's eyes. She smiled, blushed actually, and returned to her work. She enjoyed the way he looked her over, it wasn't a greedy sort of way that she remembered Gregory had done during their courtship. Quickly shaking her head from those cruel thoughts, she sighed and lifted her hand again to continue typing on the tablet.

Working with Eric and the other dependents on this project had been a nice getaway for JoyAnna. A chance for her not to think about how things ended so quickly with Gregory. In reality, she wasn't even sure why she had started something with him. Perhaps because she thought that he was adorable and sweet when he brought her and her mother flowers. Perhaps it was because he would walk her home and hold her hand, whisper pretty little things at her family's gate before kissing her cheek and bidding her 'goodnight'.

Whatever it was that had compelled her to start courting Gregory, ended the night he took her innocence. She tried to tolerate the kissing. The touching felt nice. But it all went downhill from there. As much as Gregory was enjoying it, she didn't. He kept telling her to relax, that she was beautiful and that she felt so good. But she couldn't reciprocate.

Unlike the stories, she had heard it wasn't full of bliss, compassion or excitement for her.

It was awful and uncomfortable to say the least.

He left her right after, getting dressed and climbing out the window. And then the next morning when he saw her, he pulled her into his lap and tried to feel her breasts as he rode with them in the wagon to school. She didn't like it. The other girls blushed and giggled. But JoyAnna - she felt sick.

"Hey," Shauna - the girl from Dauntless touched her shoulder. "You okay over there, Amity?"

She nodded and went back to the tablet. She had been staring at the screen for a while.

"So, I was wondering," Shauna began as she took a seat at the table Eric and JoyAnna were studying at.

It irritated Eric, that much JoyAnna knew. She saw him flinch slightly when the Dauntless girl sat down and began talking to her. Eric rarely said anything to her - actually, he barely said anything at all. But she could tell from his body language that he didn't enjoy it when Shauna came around.

"Sorry to interrupt," she told Shauna. "But can you tell me what you've done to Eric that has gotten him so annoyed whenever you come here?"

Shauna laughed and leaned closer. "Can't you tell, Amity? He wants to spend time with you - and only you. I'm encroaching on some serious boyfriend/girlfriend time."

It didn't matter how close she leaned, Shauna's voice was still rather loud. JoyAnna may have been quiet, whispering her inquiry to Shauna. But obviously, the Dauntless saw no need to keep quiet. They spoke loudly and had no shame in doing so. It could be one of the reasons why JoyAnna enjoyed Shauna often 'hanging out' - as the Dauntless put it - with them.

"We're not dating," Eric stated firmly.

JoyAnna turned to look at him as he blanked. His stern expression disappeared, and he looked back down. They weren't dating, that was the truth. But she couldn't help but feel hurt about what the admission meant. She enjoyed spending time with him. Shauna seemed to notice JoyAnna's change of mood and moved to lean in Eric's direction.

"For an Erudite, you obviously don't know a lot."

And with that Shauna left the two of them to their studying.

* * *

Eric knew that ever since that delightful outburst from Shauna, JoyAnna had been acting strange around him. She sat a few inches farther than she normally did. She didn't speak with much fervor as she normally did. In fact, nothing was normal anymore. It was almost like she was afraid to be in his presence. He wanted to blame Shauna, he really did. But for some odd reason, he couldn't help but feel that it was something he had done.

No, it had to have been the Dauntless girl.

Or maybe it was him.

It plagued his mind every single time they walked together. The way she twitched in her seat or fidgeted her fingers, she was itching to talk to him, question him. Something told Eric that she didn't get a lot of that when she was at home. If she transferred to Erudite, they would certainly feed her curiosity there. That was one reason why he had found her so enjoyable - she could talk about the silliest of subjects and then the next second, she would get into these lively debates about scientific matters. Of course, the debate was with herself because he hardly ever responded.

But whatever the problem was, it wasn't Shauna. During the two seminars in which Shauna attended the same as they - JoyAnna was a burst of energy with Shauna. And if she was on friendly terms with Shauna, then it must have been something that Eric had done.

Right?

For the life of him, Eric couldn't figure it out.

Shauna was right. He was an Erudite - so he should be able to discover the change of mood. But he couldn't.

"What's troubling you," his Aunt questioned at dinner.

"Nothing, ma'am," he answered with a firm nod.

"I've been thinking that your brother Edward is showing promise in the field of testing. Perhaps, I'll send him to Dauntless when the time comes. And you," she tutted, "you can defect to Amity, if that pleases you."

A sudden clatter of utensils was heard from the opposite end of the table. "My son is _not_ going to Amity," his mother shrieked.

"Calm yourself, Jillian. I simply meant that he's been distracted and that if he can't get his priorities straightened out, then we have no use for him," Jeanine stated simply as she continued to eat.

"A son in Amity," Jillian Coulter shook her head and began to sip on her tea. She hissed and turned towards her tablet to punch in several buttons. "Speaking of Edward, he found himself a companion."

Up on the screen came a picture of a girl that Eric didn't recognize.

"She's smart," Jeanine gave a brief nod. "But I need him with someone that has a bit of direction. She's a follower."

"Isn't that a good thing," Eric questioned. "That means that she'll follow orders, she'll obey the rules and go along with your plan." Eric looked over at the blonde. "Let Edward have his fun with her, which I'm sure that's all that it is, Jeanine - just a bit of fun."

"Just a bit of fun," she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I'm raising Erudite men not Amity pacifists. That girl has been corrupting you. This girl," she motioned to the picture, "will corrupt Edward. Men are weak-minded. That is why I warned you at the beginning of the year that I didn't want any distractions. She has you thinking about fun. Is it going to be fun for the factionless to take over this City?"

"No, it won't be," he answered.

"Our precious resources, everything that the founders have worked so hard for and the Abnegation are squandering it away with their selfless deeds. Do you want to squander away all of our ancestors hard work?"

"No, ma'am."

"This system will have been for nothing. All of their work, thrown down the drain because we began to think that people who are factionless have a place in society." Jeanine went to stand, and Eric turned away. "Do you need to be reminded of what is at stake?"

"I know what's at stake," Eric answered. "I know what needs to be done. But I'm not at Dauntless, yet. And neither is Edward."

"So, you want to take action at the last minute? You want to go there unprepared?" Jeanine walked away from the table and towards the door. "Handle the Amity now, Eric. Or I will. Thank you for dinner, Jillian."

"Of course," his mother went to stand. Just as the door slid close, she moved from her seat and went to stand at Eric's side. "You heard your Aunt. She is doing you a huge favor. Can't you see that these people are ruining our society? We can't stand by and do nothing. You have a golden opportunity here, Eric. And now you've gone and upset your Aunt."

"She could use a little anger in her life," Eric chuckled and shook his head.

"This isn't a laughing matter, young man."

"I know mother," he looked up at her. "I know," he nodded as he stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Do not worry on it, the Amity doesn't like me anyways."

* * *

JoyAnna typed away on the keyboard, glancing between her paperwork and the screen. Her fingers moved in a fluid motion, precise and quick. She enjoyed working on the computer system. She certainly didn't get that much stimulation while working in the fields. Although there was something to be said about working in the fields.

She sighed and turned to look outside the window.

The warm sunlight and the crisp air, she thought as she closed her eyes and imagined herself running through the fields - all its bright colors and wonderful smells and delectable melodies. She truly was an Amity at heart. Of course, she had thought about it - especially since this year she would be choosing. She wasn't sure that she could dance and laugh in Erudite. Her brothers always appeared to be of the serious sort since they had defected.

At the same time, she couldn't see herself not being engrossed in a book. She thrived on reading and learning - absorbing new worlds and the creativity behind an author's writing. She would not be able to lose herself in her thoughts of futuristic events or scientific foundations if she stayed in Amity, could she?

Shauna came by her desk and slammed a couple books down, breaking JoyAnna out of her reverie.

"What are you doing, Amity?"

"What do you mean, Dauntless," she sassed lightly as Shauna laughed.

"I want to know what you're doing regarding your Erudite."

JoyAnna couldn't help but roll her eyes. It wasn't the kindest thing to do perhaps, but she found that she could joke and enjoy herself when she was with Shauna. There was a certain sense of comradery with the Dauntless girl that JoyAnna hadn't shared with Serenity or Felicity. They just didn't click that way. And when her courtship with Gregory had ended - they were all in astonishment, wondering why she would choose to end her time with one of the greatest guys they've ever known. Shauna on the other hand, had applauded her, nudged her shoulder and told her to hold her head high.

 _"You deserve better"_ \- were her exact words.

While JoyAnna admired Shauna straightforwardness and her courage to take the 'heads-on' approach, JoyAnna knew to take a step back and think about it. She hadn't felt extreme affection or passion for Gregory. But it was a comfortable sort of arrangement. And though she had been flattered by his kindness and sweet words, the feeling had disappeared rather quickly. She didn't want to do the same thing with Eric. She valued his friendship.

"He's hardly mine."

"But I think you both want to be," Shauna moved her chair to sit closer to JoyAnna. "He has eyes for you, surely you've seen it - as romantic as you Amity are."

"Maybe I don't want romance," JoyAnna shook her head. "Romance is nonsense poppycock. At least that's what I've learned in my dealings with men."

"In your dealings with men?" Shauna snorted and turned completely to face JoyAnna. "If you are talking about that Amity boyfriend you had, then you need to get educated."

"I am educated," JoyAnna felt insulted.

In almost every class, at almost every turn - she was always being critiqued, censured for what she said, what she did. She was Amity-born after all. What do Amity-born know besides plants, trees, animals and how to laugh incessantly? Eric didn't view her like that. Shauna certainly didn't view her like that - at least that's what she thought.

"You're being insensitive right now," Shauna pointed. "Don't do none of that Amity crap on me."

She bristled at the use of foul words. "You're being unkind."

Shauna tutted and waved her hand in the air dismissively. "I'm not talking about being book-smart. You have that in abundance. I'm talking about that," she nodded her head to the left. JoyAnna looked over her shoulder and noticed Eric sitting down at another desk by himself. "Just from one encounter with the opposite sex and you think you have them all figured out."

She had certainly missed speaking to Eric.

Apparently, she didn't incite any sort of 'affection' in him and it was a serious blow to her womanly persona.

Maybe she just wasn't that attractive enough?

Maybe he only did view her as a friend?

JoyAnna quickly shook her head. "He doesn't even talk to me."

"Of course, 'cause you're sitting over here."

"No," she shook her head again. "That's not what I meant. What I was attempting to say is that he doesn't say anything, at all. Like we sit down, and I talk - only me. I don't think he sees me as a potential partner - maybe I'm not up to his standards in intelligence or beauty. And there is the fact that we are from separate factions, Shauna. He can't openly acknowledge that we are friends - even if that's what we are. And there's no way to truly know what he's thinking because all I receive from him in response is non-verbal cues."

"Men are normally brutes when it comes to speaking about their feelings."

"But he's Erudite-born," JoyAnna reminded Shauna, "he should have a lot to say on certain matters. But he refuses to state an opinion to me. Maybe I'm not..."

"I could do without the self-pity right now," Shauna held up her hand.

"It's easy for you to say. You have confidence and you exude bravery," JoyAnna waved her hand at Shauna.

"I don't even know what exude means, but I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"You should," she sighed and returned to staring out the window. "To be honest, I get that thrill when I'm with Eric. It's stronger than it had been with Gregory. But you heard him. That one time that he does talk - he firmly and with resolute assuredness, denied that we were romantically involved. It was as if the notion of being with an Amity was beneath him."

"There is a lot that you obviously do not see when I observe the two of you," Shauna pointed out. "And why do you say that he doesn't talk? He talks a lot."

"That's just it. He talks to you, but he doesn't talk to me."

"At all?"

"At all," JoyAnna repeated as an answer.

Shauna looked perplexed and then turned to glance at Eric before turning back to JoyAnna. "Maybe he can't form the words. Like I said earlier, some guys are like that, Amity."

JoyAnna sighed. It made her heart ache in an unknown way whenever she thought of Eric. The way he had spoken - had declined the mere notion of the two of them being involved. Why was it so painful?

"You love him."

"We're not in love. We're not even courting."

"You don't have to be 'courting'," Shauna lifted her hands in the air and made a gesture that appeared as though she was putting quotations on her words again. "For example, I'm in love with that Dauntless guy out there."

JoyAnna followed her line of sight, peering out the window and catching a couple Dauntless boys sliding down the railing near the stairs - either on their feet or on the butt. One of them did a flip at the end of his turn. After his victory - and the cheering of his friends - he looked up at Shauna and gave her a wink. JoyAnna heard the girl next to her swoon.

"It seems he reciprocates."

"Zeke," she snorted. "He's a flirt. We've been friends for a long time, but," she sighed and got a dreamy expression in her face. "But I love him."

"So," JoyAnna said slowly, "it's a crush then."

She wasn't unfamiliar with the term; hearing Serenity and Felicity speak about it constantly.

"I suppose you could put it that way. But I do have feelings for him. And they do go beyond a simple crush, Amity."

The normal sound of ringing indicating that their lessons had finished for the day sounded. Of course, the Dauntless were normally the first to leave. So, to her surprise and shock, Shauna had decided to stay and wait with her. After that the Candor would insist that they could leave. They would often take advantage of the other children's kindness or selflessness, JoyAnna noted. She wondered if that's why wagons came to pick up the Amity children at the separate end of the school.

Then of course came the Erudite, they would still be in deep in their thoughts, books or work. Normally the last kids to leave were the Abnegation - since they always permitted the others to go first. It was a wide-known fact and Shauna decided to point it out just as they left the library and made their way outside of the building. A few Dauntless boys greeted Shauna and she boldly flirted back.

JoyAnna could only wish that she was so bold.

"What are you doing with a tree-hugger?"

A strong arm casually draped around her shoulder and she did her best not to flinch. Unfortunately, the Dauntless boy picked it up.

"Easy there, softy," the boy briefly removed his arm. "No harm, no foul." His arm went back around her shoulder. "My name is Cain, by the way."

JoyAnna attempted to relax, especially since Shauna gave her an encouraging smile. "JoyAnna," she barely squeaked out.

"JoyAnna," Cain repeated. "Why haven't I seen you around? A pretty thing like you..."

Before the boys around them could say anything though, Shauna spoke up. "You probably smell stink that's why, you pansy," she teased the boy back before pretending to flip her gorgeous red hair over her shoulder. She gave a wink to JoyAnna and nodded towards him.

Her heart felt like it was beating a million miles a minute - and not in the best way. The Dauntless boys' smiles and wiggling eyebrows were making her nervous and uncomfortable. She wanted to shrink back and disappear. Clumsily, she made an attempt to follow Shauna's lead.

Nudging the Dauntless boy with her elbow, she gently extracted herself from his grasp. "You shouldn't call him a pansy, Shauna."

The boy looked proud and smug. JoyAnna smiled at his naivety. She was about to let him have it.

"A pansy is a pretty good-looking flower in Amity. And I don't see anything remotely good-looking here," she paused as the other boys began to tease Cain mercilessly.

The expression on Cain's face turned slightly dark. And JoyAnna decided that it was time for her to leave. She didn't want to cause a scene. She had already treated someone - from another faction as well - with disrespect and contempt. She used harsh words and implied something sinister. It was unlike her, certainly unlike other Amity girls too.

"Except for me and you that is," JoyAnna quickly added as she went to Shauna's side and linked their arms together. "Well, us beautiful people must leave," she said as Shauna blew a kiss over her shoulder.

Shauna laughed at the boys behind them as she continued to walk with JoyAnna. A few feet away, JoyAnna released the breath that she was holding.

"That was epic! You are my idol!"

"I shouldn't have said that," JoyAnna shook her head. "That was cruel and unkind."

"Oh, pish posh," Shauna tutted. "Cain deserved it. He tends to forget boundaries sometimes and often gets a little touchy with the girls. You handled that pretty well - kind of like a Dauntless," Shauna nudged JoyAnna playfully.

"I was so scared!"

"Hey, hey," Shauna touched JoyAnna's shoulder, attempting to calm her.

Truthfully, JoyAnna felt horrified - not just of how she behaved, but of the situation. She had never been surrounded by so many Dauntless, so many boys. True, she had brothers and they were a constant fixture at home. But that was different. These boys were tall, strong and had that bold confidence attached to their personalities, their stance. She felt small and insignificant.

Cutting remarks may have come easily to Shauna, but the ability to tease and be sarcastic was lost on JoyAnna. Shauna just didn't understand. And that was why she couldn't say anything to Eric. She wanted more than just a friendship with him. When Gregory had kissed her, she wondered what Eric's lips would feel like, if the pressure of his body against hers would drive her insane with desire and want.

It didn't help that Cain had that same leering look as Gregory did. She felt disgusted when Cain's hand draped over her. She couldn't, she simply couldn't.

"Hey," Shauna said loudly, giving her a shake. "Calm down, Amity. We're okay. You're okay." Shauna snapped her fingers. "Look at me!"

JoyAnna quickly looked up at her friend.

"You're alright. The boys were just being stupid. Nothing would have happened to either me or you, okay?"

She gave a nod.

"Okay then," Shauna reaffirmed before glancing back at the building to see that the boys were leaving - probably heading towards the Dauntless area of the City. "You handled yourself pretty well back there. True, you freaked out just now. But for a moment, you were sexy and sassy. If you could throw a Dauntless boy off his game, then you could certainly make an Erudite eat out of the palm of your hand."

"I don't even know what that means."

Shauna simply rolled her eyes. "I'm going to help you seduce your Erudite."

"No, that's cruel and un..."

"If you say unkind one more, you and I," Shauna pointed between the two of them, "are no longer going to be friends. You like him, you know you do."

Honestly, JoyAnna did like him. But after Gregory...

"I see you overthinking this right now. Don't," her 'friend' put up her hand to stop her. "Come on," she took her hand and started walking towards Amity. "I heard you folks go outside of the wall. Why don't you show me? While there, we can talk about our plans."

* * *

Eric meant to apologize to JoyAnna - he truly did. But every time he worked up the nerve to, he would freeze in place. He couldn't even talk to her, how was he going to apologize to her? What was ironic about the entire situation was that it took courage to approach JoyAnna - something he certainly would need if his Aunt and mother desired him to defect to Dauntless. The fact that he couldn't muster any bravery must have meant that he wasn't suited for the task.

Perhaps they should allow Edward to go?

Deep in his thoughts, he didn't recognize JoyAnna's form slide into the chair next to him.

"Now that everyone is here, did we run the numbers for the test sample," Miss Matthews began.

A few hands went up as Eric continued to stare at his tablet and work in front of him. He didn't run any of the numbers. He didn't do any of the work. After placating his mother, he spent the entire weekend holed up in his father's office.

"Miss Summers," his Aunt called.

Eric jerked to attention, turning his head to the right to hear her sweet voice. "I think the assignment we had was inaccurate. Either the test subject had a serum that was poorly administered, or the conductor couldn't read correctly."

A few of the students mumbled in response as Eric's eyes grew wide.

She had discovered _it_.

"What do you mean, Miss Summers," his Aunt walked closer to her.

JoyAnna looked around - possibly looking for support. Eric wanted to give. He wanted to reach his hand under the table and hold her, impart some sort of strength and confidence into her. But he couldn't, not with his Aunt's discerning eye cast upon her now. JoyAnna appeared to take a deep breath before sitting straight in her chair.

"The numbers didn't match," JoyAnna glanced one last time at her fellow students before turning back to their teacher.

"An Amity's form of math," someone muttered, which got a few chuckles and giggles from the group.

Eric knew better. And the slight movement of his Aunt's head tilted in the direction of his fellow Erudite silenced everyone else. She motioned for JoyAnna to continue. Just as she pulled out some papers, his Aunt cleared her throat. To add to JoyAnna's already critical reception of herself by his Aunt, she had written on paper. Aunt Jeanine detested paper. She wanted everything stored on computer files, on the system - easily accessible to her on demand.

"I found work easier this way," JoyAnna quickly explained, knowing the same thing.

"Place it on the screen," his Aunt instructed her.

JoyAnna took another deep breath. Eric watched as she gathered her things and placed them on his Aunt's podium next to the screen. He turned back to see a familiar look of triumph come over his Aunt's face as JoyAnna inputted her work. And although his Aunt was fascinated with the results, Eric couldn't help but admire JoyAnna. Without knowing it, his eyes left her concentrated expression and lingered on the curve of her waist wrapped in that ridiculous pale-yellow dress. She was beautiful in red. How he longed to see her in...

His Aunt stepped forward blocking his view of JoyAnna.

She diligent tapped the screen, changing around formulas and exhaled deeply before turning around to face his Aunt's judgement.

"Your thoughts," Jeanine demanded.

Eric ached to come to her rescue. But when he looked at the screen, he had no doubt that JoyAnna was right. She had discovered the divergence. And if an Amity had discovered it, then his Aunt would do anything to get her to defect to Erudite. She would make a brilliant assistant for his Aunt, he knew it.

"The test was designed to fall into one of the five categories given. But according to my numbers, the subject had a gap, numbers remained that couldn't fit into either of the five categories," JoyAnna explained. "But the conductor made them fit somehow. I did the work twice and then triple-checked the results. Every time I completed it, read over the simulation and projected the outcome, the result was the same."

"And what result did you arrive at, Miss Summers?"

"I couldn't get to any result. So, my answer is inconclusive, I suppose."

"You suppose," his Aunt questioned. "You just showed us the math and you're still questioning yourself?"

"Well, well, I..."

Jeanine Matthews held up her hand to stop JoyAnna's nervous stuttering and quiet the class. "The information that I gave you was faulty," she announced to the class. She walked towards two Erudite students and picked up their tablets, linking their work quickly to her own. As they flashed up on the screen, next to JoyAnna, his Aunt tutted. "An Amity found the discrepancy before any of you."

"We weren't given accurate details of..."

The Erudite was silenced with another glance.

"Mr. Coulter," his Aunt called him. "Perhaps you can instruct your fellow classmate as to the reasons why she can no longer be in our class."

A collective gasp filled the room as the students looked around - at Hera, at each other, at Miss Matthews and also at him. He should have known that his Aunt would have dismissed Hera. As smart as she was, she wasn't Erudite-material, she wasn't his Aunt's ideal for what she wanted. Eric took a calming breath and rose to his feet.

"Each of us were selected because we were the brightest in our classes, whether they were agriculture, history, science, psychology or even weapon engineering," he glanced towards Shauna who sat near to JoyAnna's seat. "Next year, Miss Matthews will become the leader the Erudite - hand selected as one of the brilliant minds of our faction. She gave us work in the hopes that she could test us, see which one of us would find the inconsistency, see which one of us could find what doesn't belong." He took another breath. "Miss Matthews wanted to see which one of us could find the divergence."

"Divergence," one of the Candor boys spoke up.

"What is that," JoyAnna asked.

Miss Matthews gestured for her and Eric to sit. "Mr. Moore," she then turned her attention towards the boy from Candor. "I'm assuming that you've heard about divergence?"

"My mother told me that was a superstition told to scare young children who were dishonest. If a child was dishonest, then there were infected with divergence - a plague that pollutes the mind. However, my father's parents disagree with her. Divergence is nothing more than a fictious character flaw used in a tactic to covert children."

"Are you saying they don't exist," Miss Matthews lifted an eyebrow at him.

The boy shrugged. "Perhaps they do. There's much talk about it at Candor."

"And why is that?"

"Because someone who doesn't fall into either category as Miss Summers demonstrated would show divergence. Divergence is a characteristic of manipulators. Manipulation is another form of deceit. And deceit has no place amongst an honest society."

"Thank you, Mr. Moore," Miss Matthews nodded in appreciation. "Someone who doesn't fall into any of those categories," she pointed to the screen, to JoyAnna's work, "does not belong in our society. Can someone explain to me why the founders built this City?"

"To end the war," Shauna answered.

"To promote structure, stability," Bradley Moore - the boy from Candor - added.

"To provide peace," Hera responded, in a futile attempt to regain Miss Matthew's favor.

"Miss Summers," his Aunt looked at the girl sitting next to him.

There was a small sliver of silence and Eric wondered if she was going to reply. "To prevent war," JoyAnna answered.

Eric watched as Jeanine studied JoyAnna for a moment before nodding. "All good answers, all correct answers," she assured them. "I want all of you to type out a dissertation - or write it," she added while glancing at JoyAnna, "on your findings of divergence. What do you think causes it? What do you feel should be done? What that characteristic flaw means to our society?"

"We're writing something based on speculation," Hera asked.

"We're writing something based on our opinion," Shauna clarified as Eric's Aunt turned to her.

"I'm certain that you'll provide facts," Miss Matthews replied. "But yes, I want something that tells me your judgement, your assessment of the situation. Your thoughts of allowing divergence into our society."

She was testing the group again. It was dangerous to give anyone's opinions on the subject of divergence when speaking to his Aunt. If someone showed that they were for it, she would make sure that they didn't threaten her cause in any way. Before Eric could say anything to JoyAnna about it, a small piece of paper flitted over his hand. He quickly grabbed it and tucked it under his jacket sleeve, waiting for his Aunt to pass by their table. Once she did, he lifted up his arm to see JoyAnna's handwriting.

" _I don't like this assignment_ ," she had written.

Neither did he. It was only then that he reached under the table and took her hand in his.


	3. Chapter 3

**"You can't stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting." — George Lucas, Star Wars Episode I**

Eric twirled the pen in his hand, unaware of how methodical his movements were. He studied the screen in front of him multiple times since JoyAnna had displayed it during his Aunt's seminar. She was smart - gifted. He scanned the work several times and noticed that the smallest inaccurate amounts of the test subject had been discovered by her. He transferred the notes over to his personal tablet and recreated the simulation on the screen. His eyes shifting back and forth from her notes to the conductor's final examination.

His heart beat with every task that was completed, every decision that was made. JoyAnna had placed herself in a dangerous position by finding what his Aunt had deceitfully planted in the assignment. Just as the simulation ended and he glanced at JoyAnna's end results - her 'inconclusive' answer - he sighed heavily and knew that she would be recruited by his Aunt.

The more he sat there, staring at her work - her positively brilliant research - the more he felt that she had to be protected at all costs. But how could he do it? How could he watch over her when it was hard to talk to her? He was able to talk when other girls addressed him, especially _that_ Dauntless who seemed to label herself as their friend.

Eric released a huff. That Dauntless always seemed to be hanging around JoyAnna. Not that that was hard to understand, JoyAnna was adorable - anyone would want to be friends with her. Well, maybe not anyone. He knew that Hera and Cara didn't like her all too well. Not to mention, he noticed that despite her 'getting along' with the other girls from Amity, they weren't what he would call her 'friends'.

He paused in his thoughts. He had just used air quotes in his head - a trait that he was no doubt picking up from _that_ Dauntless.

"I need to read something educational," he muttered out loud.

It was obvious that the time spent away from his lessons was placing a serious dent in his mental capacities.

With a flick of his hand, he swiped at the screen to bring up another piece of JoyAnna's work. How did she do it? How did she find it? His eyes shifted between the notes that she had made, the handwriting she had scribbled. A brief image of her studying under the tree in her backyard - the one she always raved about - came to his mind. How thoughtful and meditative she appeared as she wrote down her findings - how beautifully amazing she looked.

He really thought about her too much.

Suddenly she looked up, her eyes meeting his and he was locked in place. A small flicker of mischief danced on her face as she lifted her hand and beckoned him over. Her lips twitched up in a smile as Eric felt himself move towards her. The breeze was cool and comforting. It caused the branches in the tree to sway slowly as her hair seemed to match their rhythm.

Her brown waves weren't in their usual braid - and Eric found that he liked it this way the most. It made her look carefree and content. She was wearing that white blouse and deep red skirt - the same outfit she had on when he first noticed her. He should have been annoyed that he was about to sit down in the grass - sit down on the ground. But she made it look peaceful and comfortable.

"She's bright," his mother's voice was heard behind him.

The hairs of the back of his neck seemed to stand and a chill went down his spine. Not only was his mother home, but she had caught him during one of his quiet musings. Musings he was having about a certain Amity whom he told his mother there was no need to have caution for. His mother might think him an insipid fool now if he didn't reply quickly. He scrambled the information in his head, trying to remember what she said now that he had dampened the initial shock of hearing his mother.

 _She's bright_ , the words came to him.

Jeanine had informed his mother about JoyAnna and what happened during class. It was too late, Eric thought. If his Aunt was discussing the bright young woman in her class, then something might already be in the works to get here to Erudite.

No, they couldn't take her.

Not his Amity.

"Is this the Amity that you were distracted with earlier this term?"

Distracted, he thought. No, Eric was not distracted by her. He was consumed by her. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Jillian. "She is rather intelligent," Eric gave a brief nod.

His mother studied his response before looking back to the screen. "What are you doing looking at her work? I hope that you are not degrading yourself by cheating. I've raised you better than that."

"I wanted to study her notes, so I asked Jeanine for them. I assume you've seen her analysis?"

"A correct assumption," his mother replied as she smiled at the monitor. "The girl will be an excellent addition to our work."

Yes, he was right. Jeanine would convince her to come to Erudite. She'd either become a willing submissive or a little organism under his Aunt's microscope. He couldn't let her come to Erudite, anywhere but Erudite.

Suddenly a thought struck Eric's mind. There was a way that he could save JoyAnna and possibly save himself. JoyAnna may have been Amity-born but she wouldn't be the type of person to not ask questions. And the fact that she had discovered something ultimately dangerous would only put herself at risk when she questioned Jeanine in the future. If he could keep JoyAnna by his side, perhaps - just perhaps - he could keep her safe from his Aunt.

"We had a lively discussion about the testing results during school," Eric prompted

"I'm sure you did," she added rather dismissively as she turned away and walked towards another part of the room.

"Hera Fitzgerald didn't discover it."

"A pity," Jillian continued to look away from him, showing disinterest.

"Even Cara Turner was quiet on the subject."

His mother finally paused. Eric thought he saw annoyance flicker across her face, but he could have been wrong. His mother attempted to move the same way as her older sister, but she often failed to do so. She just wasn't as intimidating as Jeanine Matthews. It was there - no doubt about that. But his mother didn't know how to fully use that skill of manipulation.

"Two Erudite dependents were bested by a young Amity - a tree hugger, in Dauntless terms," Eric shrugged, trying to tap into that 'Matthews persona'. "Regardless of their qualities that seemed impressive during their childhood, it's obvious that they've lost their edge in adolescence. I wouldn't be surprised if Hera or Cara fail to receive Erudite during their aptitude test."

"What are you trying to imply, young man?"

He hated it when they labelled him as such. Standing up, Eric collected his work, unplugged JoyAnna's notes and walked towards where his mother was standing - looking at her own screen.

"Perhaps you could ask Jeanine if JoyAnna Summers could work with me, instead of Miss Fitzgerald or Miss Turner," Eric prompted.

"Miss Turner has studied - in depth - the relationship between Abnegation and the factionless. She understands statistics and numbers."

"True, but..."

"And Miss Fitzgerald is a fourth-generation analyst, a direct descendant from one this City's founders. Not to mention that her grandmother and our mother helped pioneer many advancements for women in several fields of science and study. We're not going to dismiss her so easily as you think."

"Jeanine did during her seminar," Eric pointed out as his mother turned sharply towards him.

"Impossible."

The look on his mother's face caused his lips to twitch slightly in a smile. "She couldn't find what Miss Summers had found. And Miss Turner is not even close to matching Miss Summers' results. In order for me to succeed, I will need someone in Dauntless that understands what we are looking for."

"And you think the Amity can do it?"

"You've heard and seen what she can do, what she knows. If Jeanine's desire is still for me to enter Dauntless, give me someone who can complement my work there - not someone I need to watch over."

"The Amity has had no formal training. It would be best if she stayed close to Jeanine. Hera or Cara will go with you - it's already been decided."

Eric nodded. "That was decided before we knew what Miss Summers was capable of. She can be taught. It is true about Miss Turner excelling in Abnegation and factionless studies. Shouldn't someone like that be here, working alongside Jeanine?"

"She'll know what we want from an Erudite point of view," his mother agreed.

Eric felt a small ounce of pride in accomplishing some ground with his mother.

"When Jeanine presents arguments to the council or even to the rest of the city, wouldn't it be best to have someone like Cara Turner by her side?"

"It would."

"And Miss Fitzgerald is incompetent when it comes to uncovering faulty test results. Jeanine dismissed her from our class. I'm certain that she would be of no use to any of us if you selected her to go with me to Dauntless. She wouldn't even be able to pick out any evidence of divergence."

"And Miss Summers," his mother questioned.

Taking a deep breath, he lifted his head with certainty and felt his chest puff out. "I wouldn't need to babysit a woman like JoyAnna Summers."

Jillian let out a sigh causing Eric to take a step back. He had stated his case but if he continued to push his mother, he would get a resounding 'no' as his answer - and that would be his last answer.

But would JoyAnna survive in Dauntless? He suddenly realized that maybe he shouldn't have selected her for the mission, to become his partner in the field at Dauntless. She didn't appear to be the daunting type. While she was bold and outspoken - during some occasions - her Amity would often shine through and he'd see her shrink back or politely apologize for her actions, thoughts or statements.

Also, Eric still didn't believe that they had repaired their relationship. Friendship, he conceded. He had foolishly declared that they were not dating. And despite that being the truth, he knew his feelings for her ran beyond being friendly. She didn't feel the same way, he was certain of it.

Recalling a day when he went to the library to find her and she'd been walking with Shauna and a group of Dauntless boys - one of which had his arm slung around her shoulder. Eric would never be so brave to do that. They were never so easily shaken by worries about speaking to a beautiful girl, or touching said girl. Eric froze whenever it came to talking to JoyAnna.

 _But you did hold her hand._

That's right. He did hold her hand.

He remembered the burn of her hand in his under the desk, how it felt like every fiber in his body was tingling. He couldn't recall any reason as to why he had grabbed her hand. Perhaps he wanted to comfort her. Perhaps he wanted her to comfort him - to feel secure and strong and wanted. Quickly, he shook his hand - attempting to shake the feel of her hand still in his - and tried to clear his head.

Arousal was kicking in fast and that was the last thing he needed right now.

His mother cleared her throat.

Turning his eyes to his mother, he saw her give him a firm nod.

"I'll speak to Jeanine about it."

* * *

JoyAnna sat at a desk with Shauna writing out several notes for her assignment with Lieutenant Max. Shauna would often tease her - all in good humor, of course - about her use of paper.

"You know they made computers and tablets for a reason, Amity."

Apparently, today was going to be no different. She had convinced Shauna to complete their work outdoors - with nature dancing around them. It got a slight laugh from Shauna, but she had agreed with the idea. JoyAnna pointed out that serene environment that helped one to meditate and focus on their work. Not that Shauna needed it for Lieutenant Max's assignment. She knew warfare and weaponry history more than anyone else in their class - even JoyAnna and Eric.

It was obvious though that when Shauna wasn't working on her own assignment - or criticizing that of JoyAnna's - then her mind would wander onto other things. JoyAnna didn't ask. She just enjoyed that her friend was quietly enjoying the warm sunlight and cool breeze overhead.

A leaf fell onto JoyAnna's lap where she held her pen to her paper.

"I enjoy writing things down. It feels as though the work came from my own hand, that it was part of me and now it's leaving me."

Shauna's expression on her face was one of total disbelief and humor. She shook her head and turned away. "I hardly understand half the things you say. You're too hilarious."

JoyAnna just smiled and began her work again.

"Where's Eric, by the way?"

That caused her to pause yet again as she looked up. Her eyes scanned the front entrance of the building. She hardly saw him outside of class these days and she wondered if it had anything to do with her dating once again.

Cain had been paying particular attention to her as of late. She had sewn a new dress together - with the help of her mother - in the hopes of getting Eric's attention. When she sat next to him the only reaction, she had received was a widening of his eyes and a mumbled excuse that he was needed elsewhere. He had quickly gotten up from the table in the library and hurried out of there. Like he couldn't get away from her fast enough. As JoyAnna walked home, Cain had caught up to her and complimented her on the new dress.

She had even done what Shauna taught her to do, she would find any excuse to brush her body up against his - whether it was moving her chair closer to sit nearer to him or leaning over him to reach for a pencil or paper or book that just happened to be on the other side of him. JoyAnna would smile saucily at him and stay in that position until she realized that she was making him highly uncomfortable.

Maybe they were just friends.

But that didn't explain the look of hatred he gave Cain whenever Cain would show up and sling his arm over her shoulder. Perhaps Erudite was not used to public displays of affection? Or maybe it was because he remembered what she had gone through with Gregory and was just looking out for her?

She shouldn't have started dating again. There was so much uncertainty about being with other guys - especially since Cain was in Dauntless. What would the future hold for them? Right now, it was all in good fun. At least some of the time it was. She didn't particularly find satisfaction every time they made out, when he would roughly grope her or when he requested that she return the favor.

There was one thing JoyAnna knew for sure - she really wanted to be with Eric, physically, emotionally, mentally - whether it was of a friendly nature or a romantic one. She just missed him.

"So," Shauna began, sensing a need to bring up another topic. "Cain has been talking about you."

Okay, so maybe it wasn't so much another topic as opposed to the one she was thinking about in her mind.

"And what has he been saying," JoyAnna folded her arms across her chest. "That I give a good hand job," she asked in a disgusted manner.

"Hey, if he's doing something that makes you feel uncomfortable, then you should say something," Shauna softly hit her shoulder. "Don't let him bully you into getting physical when you're not ready. That's what that fucking tree-hugger did and look at..."

Shauna paused as JoyAnna shot her a look.

"I don't like that word."

"Which one," Shauna eased up with a teasing smile, "fucking or tree-hugger?"

"Both," JoyAnna answered as she looked away. "But the one that sounds like mucking. I especially do not like hearing that word."

Shauna laughed. "You're too cute sometimes, Amity. But I like you that way. So prim and proper."

"I'm not from Abnegation. I'm just saying that it's a degrading word that sometimes invokes hateful tendencies," JoyAnna whispered the last two words.

"Ooh," Shauna put up her hands in mock surrender, "sorry for speaking of the unmentionable."

"I know that Dauntless tend to be physically active and it comes off as being brutal and savage to the rest of us - especially my faction - but please, please," she pleaded, "at least while you're in my company could you keep the use of foul language down to a minimum?"

"Foul language," Shauna smiled.

"Your choice of words," JoyAnna answered.

"I know what you meant Amity. It's just that if you're dating someone from Dauntless, you should be used to our 'choice of words'."

"I've already asked Cain to do so. It's degrading whenever he curses and I'm trying to please him."

JoyAnna gave a shiver and Shauna stopped her laughing then.

"That's kind of why I wanted to speak with you," Shauna picked at the ends of her electronic tablet while looking towards the front entrance of the building - the same as JoyAnna had done earlier.

The two of them looked at one another briefly before both turning away.

"Cain was telling the guys that he was planning on sneaking over to Amity tonight. Apparently, he said that you were going to let him fu..." Shauna paused and then took a deep breath as if to consider her words. "Cain told the guys that you and him were going to have sex against a tree. It's been a fantasy of yours and no Amity has ever given you..."

JoyAnna stood up immediately, unable to hear the rest of Shauna's story - or whatever nonsense that Cain had been spewing to his buddies. They hadn't been dating that long. It had probably been a matter of weeks. But he had been requesting to get further along on the physical scale rather quickly - quicker than Gregory had ever requested for affection. She had made love to him with her hands and her mouth and now he was talking about making love against a tree?

She continued walking until she found him - cheering his friends who were playfully wrestling with one another. At least in their eyes it was playful. She remembered asking - no, pleading more like - for them to quit fighting amongst themselves. Friends didn't behave in such a manner. But Cain and Shauna had explained that it was an everyday occurrence, it was something that all Dauntless did.

A couple of them glanced her way and nodded their heads in greeting, one of which was Ezekiel - well, his name is Ezekiel, but he preferred to be called 'Zeke'. She heard Shauna call him Ezekiel once and for some reason, JoyAnna felt that she liked that name better. He never corrected her. And surprisingly the other guys didn't really tease him about it. Apparently, Zeke was one of the coolest Dauntless kids out there, whatever Shauna had called him. He had been seeing another girl lately and JoyAnna could only determine that that was the reason for Shauna constantly 'studying' with her in the library or under her favorite tree.

"Hey," Cain approached her, but kept his eyes on the fight.

JoyAnna stood a good distance away. She knew better than to get any closer.

"We need to talk," she replied as she turned to see one of the boys come out a victor, finally flipping his opponent over.

"Dammit," Cain smacked his thigh.

"Yes," Ezekiel and a couple others cheered.

When the dust cleared, JoyAnna took in the form of the boy who had won the fight and immediately gasped. He was badly bruised and bleeding. She looked down at the loser and noticed that he was just as beat. She had tended to wounds before in Amity but most of them weren't inflicted by another person's fists.

"JoyAnna," Ezekiel looked at her as she stared in horror at the two boys.

"Fighting doesn't solve anything," she quickly retorted, Shauna appearing by her side.

Cain smiled and slowly walked her way. "We need to be fit and ready for anything that may come our way, babe."

"Don't call me that. I've told you, I don't like it when you call me that," she whispered, not wanting to cause a scene. Although her presence there was probably noticeable to others. JoyAnna immediately felt fear and awkward at being in such a place - with the other Dauntless youth hanging around and watching her. A few of them were smiling - internally they were laughing at her and she knew it. This was no place for an Amity.

Shauna placed her arm around her shoulders.

"Don't coddle her, Rodriguez," Cain snapped, grabbing Shauna's arm and pushing her back.

Ezekiel reacted quickly. "Hey back off, Banner," positioning himself between Shauna and Cain.

"What's it to you, Pedrad," the loser got up, dusted off the dirt and sneered in his direction.

JoyAnna didn't like the looks of this. If hanging out with Shauna taught her anything, it was that majority of the time that they used their last names - they were either excited about something magnificent happening or they were getting irritated with each other. It was the beginning signs of hostility that was making JoyAnna uncomfortable. She felt her breathing pick up and her heart hammer in her chest.

"Let's go, babe," Cain made a show of using the endearment again and reached out for JoyAnna's arm.

She quickly stepped back and shook her head.

"Look, I'm not going to apologize for who I am," he gestured to himself.

"I'm not asking you to," JoyAnna looked down.

Cain still used foul language around her, he still allowed his friends to bully other kids - especially the Abnegation. They never refrained from teasing other kids from Amity. A few times Cain had even asked if the Amity have degrading fetishes. She had never heard or known of such a thing. Sure, Gregory wasn't exactly a gentleman after they had been together but when she asked him about such practices, he looked appalled. Violence, especially during intimacy was a shocking behavior.

She remembered the reason for her coming here. Cain wanted to have sex against a tree. Although she was certain that he rudely bragged about it using vulgar words. Cain wasn't going to change who he was and expected her to be okay with it. Well, she wasn't going to change who she was, and he had to be okay with that too. It was demanding and didn't invoke trust in her romantic partner, but she didn't see anything kind about him.

And then there was the fact that he had touched Shauna in an aggressive manner, had verbally reproached her. Shauna was her friend. JoyAnna wasn't going to stand by and allow violence to be shown towards her friend.

"Maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore."

"What did you just say," Cain questioned, taking another step closer.

JoyAnna quickly took a step back. He must have noticed her shaking with fear because a few of them continued to smile and laugh at her, including Cain. It was like she was a big joke to them.

"We..." She stumbled over her words and tried to take a deep, calming breath, hoping to draw some strength from Shauna - and maybe even Ezekiel. "We shouldn't..."

"We shouldn't what, JoyAnna," Cain mocked.

"I just think that..."

"You just think that," he prompted. "Come on, spit it out!"

She involuntarily flinched at the tone of his voice. There were many occasions during their short time together that JoyAnna had requested that he use a gentler form of speech with her. But he said that she would get used to it and continued to say it, regardless of how uncomfortable it made her. She should have listened to her gut. It was just nice to have someone paying attention to her. She had tried to catch Eric's, but he seemed either appalled or indifferent towards her.

JoyAnna liked Eric.

She didn't...

She never would...

"I don't like you," she finally said out loud to Cain. "I was really hoping to catch Eric's attention not yours."

Shauna turned towards her in shock. So did Ezekiel and a few of the Dauntless boys. One of the girls that was present scoffed and looked away as though she were bored. It was cruel of her and she knew it. She looked up, ready to apologize but was immediately taken aback. JoyAnna wasn't prepared for the expression of anger that flooded Cain's face.

"I'm so sorry Cain, I shouldn't have said that. That was mean and..."

"You're right," his hands balled into fists at his side and he seemed to grow ten feel tall as his eyes narrowed at her. "You should have kept your damn mouth shut!"

She didn't like feeling so insignificant. She was waiting for more words of hatred to spew from his mouth. Judging from the way that he was approaching her and looking in her direction, she knew that things might get physical. Ezekiel seemed to notice and once again firmly planted himself in front of JoyAnna and Shauna.

"Get out of my way, Pedrad!"

"Why don't you back off, Banner? She doesn't want you. Get over it."

Immediately the tears sprang up in her eyes and her body began to shake with fear. It was going to come to a physical altercation - one that she had caused, one that her words had caused. She had never felt so hollow, so empty, so alone. Just as she was about to turn around, a pair of arms encased her. Her body went numb with dread and worry. It wasn't a good feeling. With her heart beating as fast as it was, she felt like collapsing.

"Dauntless are supposed to defend those who cannot defend themselves," the voice stated confidently and loudly.

She heard Shauna gasp next to her and a few of the other Dauntless move towards the newcomer. JoyAnna was so distraught that she couldn't focus on who it was that had taken a hold of her. Her body was tugged into the other person's warmth and pulled away from the scene.

"It's obvious none of you are Dauntless, yet," the person continued. "Because only a Dauntless, only someone who is courageous would stand up for the Amity."

"Screw you, Erudite," Cain shouted as JoyAnna was suddenly picked up.

She looked to see that it was Eric who had swept her up in his arms. He struggled at first - that much was obvious. She wasn't exactly the lightest person. And unlike the Dauntless boys that they were walking away from, Eric hadn't excelled in physical training. Her vision was blurry, and her face felt hot with shame, anxiety and unease as she tried to search out for his eyes.

"You think you're so great! You're just a fucking nose!"

"Oh my God, Eric," Shauna ran alongside them. "That was the most amazing, bravest thing I've ever saw. Standing up to a crowd of Dauntless," she clicked her tongue.

JoyAnna could have sworn that she heard how impressed Shauna was at Eric's act of bravery.

She only wished she could have seen it.

"I was so stupid," JoyAnna mumbled.

"On the contrary," Eric replied as she felt his chin lean down on her head. "That was pretty smart of you, leaving that prick."

"Don't curse Eric," she said softly.

"Alright," he replied. JoyAnna leaned her head against his chest as Eric faltered in his steps, almost dropping her. But his grip only tightened. "I got you," he whispered to her.

It was then that JoyAnna knew Eric would always keep her safe.

* * *

A part of him had been keeping his distance from JoyAnna. When he saw that she was in trouble, he couldn't hold back any longer. He wasn't sure what prompted him to act on her behalf - and act with so many Dauntless around. True, she wasn't 'his', but she was a friend - a friend that he deeply cared about. He had saved her more than once in the past couple months and though today was only the first time she would know about it, he would do it all again to have her in his arms.

She was getting a little heavy now, especially with the Amity border approaching so quickly. Shauna, Ezekiel and three other Dauntless dependents had followed for some time - ditching school because apparently, they did it a lot. When it was obvious that Cain wouldn't present a problem, they decided that they leave Eric to it. JoyAnna only gave Shauna a weak smile but otherwise kept herself in Eric's arms.

"We're almost there," Eric told her.

"This is the first time that I think we've talked so much to each other," she mumbled against his shirt.

Eric smiled and bounced her in his arms to get her into a more comfortable position for him. She must have sensed it because she pulled back and looked up at him.

"You can set me down if you want."

"I kind of don't want to."

"I don't want you to either," she smiled and then blushed lightly at the admission. Eric thought it was beautiful. She turned back to him with a serious expression. "I also don't want you to injure yourself. And I think that I'm capable of walking on my own now that I'm so close to my home."

Eric really didn't want to let her go. However, there was no use in fighting it. He gave her a nod and gently placed her feet on the ground, steadying her as she found her strength.

"I've missed you."

He looked to see how close they were standing and gave her a small nod. "I've missed you, too."

"Where have you been lately?"

"Miss Matthews," Eric prompted.

"Our teacher," she tilted her head in confusion.

Eric chuckled, loving how adorable she looked whenever she thought about something. He smiled at her, enjoying the blush again before answering. "Miss Matthews is my Aunt." He anticipated the look of alarm she gave before nodding for him to continue. "She is to become Erudite's newest leader come next year."

"Wow," JoyAnna gave him a small smile, still appearing slightly confused. "That's impressive. I know that each faction chooses their leader differently. Your Aunt must be highly intelligent to have been elected."

"She likes to think so," he said.

JoyAnna's smile widened. "Did you just make a joke?"

"I have been known to have a sense of humor."

"Yes, because that's what the studious and kind Eric Coulter is known for."

They both laughed, and Eric wondered why he had not found the courage to talk to her before. Their choosing ceremony was three months away. Three-fourths of their final year in school had passed by without him so much as saying a sentence towards her. But here she was - laughing at a joke that he said. Perhaps she was just doing it out of kindness, to make him feel good about himself - a way to thank him for saving her earlier today.

"So, what exactly does Miss Matthews have you doing?"

Eric cleared his throat before responding. "The project she had us complete before Winter-time," he reminded her. "She's doing in depth research on it and I've been helping her with it."

JoyAnna's smile almost disappeared but she kept it on her face. "The mistake I found?"

"The very one," Eric nodded. "There's talk about asking you to join Erudite."

"We didn't even undergo our aptitude test," she whispered.

"She sees potential in you," Eric said reassuringly, hoping to ease some of the tension that was growing in her. He could tell that she was feeling awkward about talking about it. "I've told them the same."

"You don't think I could make it?"

Eric chuckled this time and reached out to touch her cheek. "You're one of the brightest people I know, JoyAnna Summers. I think you could do anything you want to."

Her smile did fall this time. Maybe he did something wrong? Maybe he wasn't supposed to touch her? It was too soon, obviously. Eric was beginning to censure himself for being so open with her. She had just experienced something traumatic and here he was, throwing himself at her.

Just as his insecurities began to rise, her arms wrapped around his middle and she rest her head just under his own. He leaned down and took a deep whiff of her hair. It smelt clean and fruity - but not overpowering as the other Amity girls in school. It was something that screamed JoyAnna Summers. Slowly, he lifted his own arms and placed them around her, returning the embrace.

"Thank you, Eric." JoyAnna pressed herself closer to him, setting off all sorts of emotions and feelings - and also fantasies. "Thank you for everything."

Eric gave her body a little squeeze. "Anything for you." And he knew with all his heart that he would always mean that.


	4. Chapter 4

**"... I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else. Because if it's just you alone you're not as much of a threat." - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix**

"Such a gentleman," JoyAnna noted with a blush as Eric pulled out a chair for her.

Eric thought that today they could have a window seat in the study hall. He loved how the light would shine in through the window and around her head. He took a deep breath as she brushed past him and settled herself into the chair, her hair swinging from left to right with the sway of her body. The scent of her was intoxicating and for some reason his stomach had been leaping since that incident with the boy from Dauntless. He wasn't sure why he enjoyed that little fact - that she wasn't dating or courting as she labelled it. But it made him feel happier.

"I love the sun," her fingers reached out as if she could touch the rays of light coming through the window. "Do you know that in works of literature the sun is often used to describe light, positivity, inspiration, relaxation, romance," she said before her cheeks reddened and she looked away from him as he sat down.

The days had flown by with such ease since JoyAnna and Eric had discovered Eric's ability to talk. Of course, he could always talk. Motor and linguistics skills were not lost on someone who was Erudite-born. What had been lost on him was the social interaction with those whom he was attracted to. And there was no denying it now, not anymore. Eric Coulter was attracted to JoyAnna Summers.

Really attracted to her.

"So," he cleared his throat. "You wanted to study theoretical psychology?"

"I just wanted to ask you what you thought of the lecture in your Aunt's lesson today," JoyAnna replied. "She brought up..."

Their conversations consisted of a variety of topics and sometimes he would just stare at her when she would prattle about something. Prattle, he thought as he shook his head. JoyAnna had used that word on several occasions and he was picking up on her terminology.

"I'm sorry, I'm prattling, aren't I," she stopped and looked down.

"You're not."

"You can tell me," JoyAnna's eyes moved back to him. "I don't want to tire you out with my constant enthusiasm."

"I enjoy your enthusiasm. And you won't tire me out."

JoyAnna smiled shyly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, you don't look like you would tire out very easily."

Regardless of how she meant it or not, Eric couldn't help but imagine the two of them in a passionate embrace, ardently kissing one another until they were both left wanting - and he certainly would not be 'tired out' so they could continue all night. Eric shifted in his seat, unaccustomed to having Ana and him speak so much and so openly about matters - and possibly in horror that she might discover she thoughts just now of her skin against his, her whispers in his ear and her fingertips dancing on his...

"By the way, did you read the notes on the Lieutenant's lecture?"

Her voice quickly interrupted his fantasies and for that he was glad.

They were supposed to be studying. But ever since they had discovered his talent of conversing, their time spent together seemed more social than anything else. They were often lulled into a comfortable silence - not because they couldn't find things to say to one another. But they had been so used to it before, that he just enjoyed the fact that she was with him. Once, she placed her head on his shoulder for no apparent reason other than to just be near him - and he knows that because she had said so herself.

JoyAnna was smart and quick and well-read, and though she was an Amity-born, he wouldn't see that cheerful side of her too much. In fact, if it weren't for the pink and red clothes or the occasional orange and yellow, or the way her hair was loosely braid or fell around her face in long waves as it blew in the breeze - he would never had picked her out as an Amity.

And for some reason that would always remind him that she wasn't safe. Jeanine wanted to get her claws into his sweet JoyAnna.

No attachments, Jeanine had told him.

Despite his best efforts to not get attached, he was quickly becoming one of her best friends. And if he wasn't careful, something romantic between the two of them might happen and that might just put her in complete danger.

When he walked her home that afternoon, she put her hand on his arm to stop him and peered out at the sunset.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful in all your life?"

Eric could have thought of a few things that could be considered 'beautiful'. But JoyAnna helped him to see that it wasn't just what his eyes could see that true beauty could be found. They stood there on the roadway, staring straight ahead at the colorful sky as the sun lowered on the horizon, bathing their surroundings in a haze of color. Eric looked at the scene before him, without speaking, without moving, totally transfixed by the pinks, blues and oranges that danced in the early-evening sky. It didn't occur to him to say anything about how dark it was getting when he felt her hand slip into his.

This moment in life - the timing and feeling of everything - was unimaginable beauty.

"Wasn't that something," she finally spoke up when they reached the border of Amity. "What a wonderful memory I should have," she turned to him with a smile. "And I shared it with you," JoyAnna finished as she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek. "Goodbye Eric."

"Goodbye JoyAnna," he whispered as she released his hand and took off down the road.

It was only later, at home, did he realize that everything else was just supercilious nonsense. Of course, the more he listened to his mother and his aunt speak about matters, how they are moving according to plan - it brought him to the conclusion that they were being ridiculous.

"Why do you both prattle on about such nonsense," he questioned, which made both of them drop their utensils to stare at him in shock and horror.

He had spoken out against them and had did so using elementary vocabulary, he noticed. Eric simply withdrew from the table before either of them could question what was happening to him. That night his brother did come home for dinner - or rather, was permitted to attend dinner. His brother promptly departed from the table also in the hopes of speaking with him.

Edward quickly pressed the keypad to close Eric's door.

"Mother doesn't appreciate it when I lock her out."

Edward rolled his eyes, which caught Eric's attention. Edward rarely showed displays of disobedience.

"Besides, I don't have time to discuss..."

"Prattle," Edward questioned, looking at Eric intently. "That's something an Amity would say. And word at the lab is that you've been associating with an Amity."

"Myra Valdez," Eric commented.

"What about her?"

"Word around the dinner table is that you've been associating with her."

"Better her than an Amity," Edward responded. "Besides, we're um," his brother shifted uncomfortably before glancing back at the door. "We're dating."

"Really? I had no idea," Eric teased.

"And the Amity?"

"What about her," he posed the same question that his brother had asked him earlier.

"Are the two of you dating?"

"Honestly," Eric began as Edward nodded. "I wish we were. But she's been hurt before. And I think that right now all she wants is a friend."

Edward nodded thoughtfully again.

"Why do you ask? Is there something on your mind?"

His brother shrugged. "I guess I'm wondering because, well, because you are older than me and this is your last year in school," Edward inched closer. "And I thought that perhaps, maybe you have already," he shook his head. This was one of the first times he had also seen his brother so unsure of himself.

Edward was more confident than Eric had ever been. Eric supposed it was because he was younger. Mother often said that Eric reminded her so much of his father. Of course, she always said it with a sad, but happy expression on her face - and those moments were rare. It would change at the drop of a dime to the same mask he saw Jeanine wear.

And because of the resemblance he bore, Eric was drilled and constantly schooled, as if he was being groomed to not behave as his father - but how his mother wanted him to be. Edward was placed in the care of sitters, tutors and other Erudite families. She rarely saw him, and something told Eric that it was because Edward may have reminded his mother of something horrible because she hardly ever wanted him around. Because of that, Edward had more social skills, created friendships. And those friendships often gave him an air of self-confidence.

But here was his brother, looking uncertain and stumbling over his words.

Edward sighed before blurting out his question. "Have you engaged in physical intercourse, yet?"

Eric thought for a moment on how to answer. His brother didn't appear as though he had done so and was looking to compare notes. Something about the look on his brother was simple curiosity. Edward just wanted to know, he didn't want to brag that he had accomplished something. Or perhaps he wanted to know because he wanted advice on how to proceed with Myra Valdez.

"No, I have not," Eric replied. "Remember Aunt Jeanine said no attachments."

"Hardly an attachment if the girl is in another faction," Edward shrugged, "like your Amity. Chances of you seeing her after your choosing are slim. Jeanine wants us to go to Dauntless. And I highly doubt the girl would transfer to Dauntless."

"She may come here. Jeanine has asked her for assistance."

All humor from Edward's face had drained and was replaced with apprehension and fear. He glanced back at the door for a second time before looking at Eric for confirmation.

Eric gave him a nod. "Her scores are off the charts. Intellectually she is surpassing many of the young women our age who we've grown up with. She shows a thirst to learn more also. Enjoys reading literature, studying mythology, and is fascinated with numbers," Eric smiled before turning serious. "However, like you said she is an Amity. She displays Amity-like tendencies, a need for approval, acceptance, compassion and dare I say it - peace."

"Do you think she is..."

"Hush," Eric scolded Edward. "Even if she was..."

"That could be why Jeanine is so interested in her, have you thought of that?"

"She found the anomaly," Eric interrupted.

Edward's eyes widened.

"Jeanine posed the divergent aptitude test in front of the class as homework," Eric explained. "Five different cases. Everyone in class, even Hera Fitzgerald and Cara Turner were unable to identify it. She did. Stood up in class and showed Jeanine the math."

"Did you..."

"I didn't do the work. But I asked Jeanine to see JoyAnna's work under the pretense of validating her answers and it everything was correct." Edward shook his head at what Eric was telling him. "I told mother to ask Jeanine to have her come to Dauntless with me."

"That's too dangerous. I'm already going with you when my time comes."

"If she doesn't come with me, then they'll encourage her to come here to Erudite. And I can't have here where I can't make sure that she's staying out of trouble. You'll be here, yes. But as it stands, I'm sure that during her initiation time, she won't be able to see you or anyone else for that matter. And in two years' time, you'll be assigned to Dauntless," Eric sighed. "She won't be safe here, not by herself."

"You care about her, don't you?"

There was no hesitation on Eric's part. "I do." And that was probably what he feared the most, was how much this Amity had come to mean to him.

* * *

Her lessons weren't going exactly how she expected them to be. JoyAnna had been having a bad day since the sun had risen in the sky. Even when the first rays of light had touched her window, she knew that today would be less exciting as it normally was. She had been distracted - utterly and completely distracted. And she couldn't tell what it was that her mind had decided to focus all of its attention on that she would miss the fact that her plant was dying in her parent's yard, or that her brother had gotten sick, or that her father needed all of them to help in the fields, or that the border guards needed tending.

As much as the idea of defecting to Erudite appealed to her, she wasn't one to compete. And she noticed how competitive Hera and Cara were, especially whenever she came into class. They would attempt to outdo her, outshine her, even out-flirt her. Not that she was attempting to flirt with Eric. No, they were just friends. At least that's what she told herself after he would walk her to Amity's borders, or he'd invite her to his table to study. No one ever sat at Eric's table, she noticed.

Ever since she discovered - or more like he had admitted - that he was Miss Matthews' nephew, she could see the 'status' or 'superiority' of Eric Coulter among his peers. Every one of them tried to get a piece of Eric, in the hopes of appeasing Miss Matthews. And yet, he wouldn't give any of them the time of day - except JoyAnna Summers. She caught the jealous stares and confused glances whenever she sat next to him.

In fact, right now, she was about to catch more of them.

JoyAnna walked into the study hall and quickly walked over to where Eric sat.

He didn't look up at her but the smile on his face betrayed him. He knew she was there - could sense it somehow. And that gave her a thrill as she set her books down.

"Fitzgerald's work about the feminine mind being smaller in size but fully functioning does not make sense," JoyAnna stated.

"Melinda Fitzgerald is one of the founding members of Erudite society," Eric replied without looking up. "Her studies on the mind and its ability to hold and retain information had surpassed her superiors, which happened to be men and the foremost reason why my Aunt covered her findings in our class this morning."

"But it isn't a competition," she shook her head as she slid into the seat opposite of him.

"You still don't grasp the concept of her theory."

JoyAnna sighed and slouched in her chair. She turned to look off at the window - the same window that she always seemed to stare out of. "I've been having a bad day, which is odd because usually I'm not so pessimistic." He finally looked up and gave her a conspiring glance that made her smile. "Okay, so I have my moments where I'm a little less of an Amity. But today is different and I don't know why. I feel like I'm distracted."

"Distracted how," he questions.

"Don't do that," JoyAnna shakes her head, noticing the gleam in his eye, the Erudite thirst for study and observation.

"Don't do what?"

"That," she points her finger at him. "You're analyzing me."

"You posed a situation, a possible topic of study."

"Yeah, but it's me, myself," she gestured, moving her hands to point at her. "I don't like being the center of some sort of discussion or topic of study, like 'how in the world did that Amity outscore us, Tara'," JoyAnna mimicked Serenity Fields, instead of that Erudite she has in her class and made a show of flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"It's Cara," Eric clarified as she rolled her eyes. "Hera and Cara," he pointed his pen left and then right to indicate the two girls who were a few tables away. "And they don't talk like that all the time," he sighed before leaning forward. "And I'm sorry for making you feel as though I'm studying you. In all honesty, I just want to know if you're okay. You said you're distracted."

JoyAnna softened at the tone in Eric's voice. It did convey that he was worried about her. Because in truth, she wasn't like this. She wasn't preoccupied or distracted that she'd drift off in class - like mindlessly just stare at the teacher or out a window. But there were times where she couldn't focus and couldn't concentrate. And she didn't know why.

"My family needed me yesterday," she began. "My youngest brother fell ill. Nothing serious," she added as Eric looked worried. "But my father was out in the fields. My mother was tending to the wounded Dauntless at the border. Normally I volunteer for all of that."

"What are you, a Stiff?"

"That is a degrading and demeaning term, Eric Coulter," she chastised him as he nodded, letting her continue. "My family needed me, and I wasn't fast enough. Like I didn't react right away. And then this morning when I woke, I felt confused and almost bitter. Those are emotions that no Amity should have." She leaned forward and so did Eric. "I even ate a second slice of bread this morning at the table," she confessed as Eric chuckled. "Don't laugh. I'm being serious, Eric. Something is wrong with me."

"I don't think anything is wrong with you," Eric replied. "We all have days where we don't compete at our best."

"That's one reason why I can't go to Erudite."

Eric narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"

"Erudite is tough," JoyAnna shook her head. "And everything is a competition in Erudite. There is always a desire to be the next greatest thing, to discover something, theorize something, to place oneself above another. As an example, let's look back at Hilly and Carol."

"Hera and Cara," Eric corrected with a smile on his face.

Perhaps she was being a little jealous of them, the same way they were of her. But in their case, she couldn't understand for what they were jealous about. It wasn't her fault that Eric preferred her friendship over theirs.

"Okay, Hannah and Christine," JoyAnna sighed, this time purposefully getting their names wrong, despite Eric correcting her once. "They are in this race to become the greatest they can be. And they shouldn't be faulted for that. Everyone should give everything that they do their one hundred percent, they should accomplish their task to their full potential. But those two," she gestured towards them. "They compete to cause harm to the other person not for their own benefit."

"How did you come up with that conclusion?"

"For one, Hailey will manipulate those around her - physically and mentally. That leads to emotional damage to a person's psyche, something in their mind shuts down when they are used or taken advantage of. And her manipulation - like mentioned whether it be physical or mental - is only to see that other people fail. She's not attempting to win the race by her own merit, by showcasing her talent. She's tripping everyone else up and no one seems to bat an eye at her for it. And Cathy," JoyAnna shook her head, "deceivingly sabotages our fellow student's work. If they can only perform at level two, they'll take everyone in level three and disturb their work, causing them to fall back down a level."

"You make us sound like barbarians."

"Not all of you. You asked me for an example, and I gave it to you."

"And the reason for you not wanting to compete for this so-called coveted spot?"

"It is coveted, and you know it," she pointed at him. "And the reason why is because I'm not like that. I don't want to manipulate or sabotage other people. That is deceitful and unkind."

"Your Amity is showing."

"That's because I am an Amity. An Amity can't compete against Erudite, not like that. It would be in a fair and honest race. But if I was to go to Erudite," she shook her head again. "For all I know, I could crash and burn under the workload, or the pressure to achieve greatness. I rather not..."

"You rather not put yourself into the race at all."

"It's a fixed race," she argued.

"I don't understand what that even means."

"Fixed, meaning that there is already an outcome. And everything else will be designed so that outcome takes place and that I will not get there."

Eric is quiet for the longest time. It's sort of is unnerving whenever he did look intensely at her as he was doing now. She realized that they could talk about anything, she was so comfortable with him that she brought up her distressing situation about being distracted yesterday and today. And she had not thought to speak of it to her parents, not even to Shauna. And JoyAnna had an open relationship with her parents, they were loving and considerate. Shauna was becoming one of her best friends also. There wasn't a day that went by that she wasn't speaking to Shauna about something. But she didn't disclose to them her feelings of 'distraction'. It was only with Eric. She wasn't sure what she'd do when they couldn't speak with each other anymore in the future.

"You're scared."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Eric..."

"No, wait," Eric stopped her. "Listen to me, JoyAnna. You're a brilliant person. There's nothing to worry about, whether Hera or Cara are going to get the upper hand on any subject or test that you folks are presented with, because I believe - one hundred percent - that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. You shouldn't let failure - or the fear of it - get in the way of you becoming something great, achieving something great. You haven't even gone to Erudite yet and you're already talking yourself out of it."

"What if I fail the aptitude test," she questioned.

Eric laughed, truly laughed. She narrowed her eyes at him in frustration as he shook his head at her statement. "JoyAnna, no one can fail an aptitude test. That's not what the test is designed to do."

"What if I," JoyAnna paused and then shook her head. "Never mind, you've given me much to think about. Thank you, Eric."

She grabbed her bags and went to leave. She couldn't even say it out loud. Ever since Eric had disclosed with her, her chances of going to Erudite, she had begun analyzing and deciphering every little piece of information about the girls from Erudite, the women - like Jeanine Matthews - who were full members. Could she be like them? No, she couldn't.

And then she realized that she didn't necessarily belong in Amity, either. And she wasn't sure what pained her more - the fact that she didn't belong with her family or the fact that she couldn't go anywhere else. Then, she thought that she would have to go over the test subject that Miss Matthews had given them for their lesson. And that's when she concluded that she was similar to this person - this mistake, this inconclusive result. This person didn't belong anywhere. And neither did JoyAnna Summers.

Eric was wrong.

She could fail the aptitude test.

And when she did fail it, she would be factionless.

JoyAnna paused on the steps because now she knew why she had been so distracted, why her mind had begun to wander off into emptiness. Because she couldn't tell anyone, not even Eric, but JoyAnna Summers didn't belong anywhere. She would never fit in - not in Amity with people like Serenity Fields and certainly not in Erudite with girls like Hera Fitzgerald.

"JoyAnna?"

She whirled around to see Shauna looking confused at her.

"Hey girl, you okay?"

"Yeah," JoyAnna nodded and looked down, brushing her skirt with her hand, trying to calm her nerves. "I mean yes," she corrected her grammar. "I am perfectly well. A little flushed perhaps from the heat. It is getting warmer," she turned to look at the afternoon sun.

"It is," Shauna agreed, her tone still suspicious.

"Weren't our lessons thrilling today?"

"I suppose they were," Shauna eyed her out before shaking her head. "I saw you in study hall with Eric. Is everything okay with the two of you," she glanced at the building.

"Perhaps we had a small disagreement, but it wasn't anything serious," JoyAnna admitted.

"What happened," she asked.

"I'm ashamed to admit it but I don't like his friends," was the reply, "the two girls in our lesson who constantly seem to fawn over him."

"That is jealousy, my friend," Shauna nudged her playfully. "You like Eric. I think you always have, especially since the start of the year. But the two of you were too afraid to do or say anything about it. And now that the year is coming to an end and our choosing to close by, you hate that he gets attention from other girls."

"Hate is a strong word."

Shauna shook a finger at JoyAnna and the expression on her face changed. "You see, that right there," she began, "you saying that 'hate' is a strong word."

"It is a strong word. You shouldn't hate people. Hate breaths anger and dissention which is the opposite of peace and..."

"Ever since you've started dating Cain, I've noticed it," Shauna's eyes narrowed. "You're not really an Amity, JoyAnna. I think you're just pretending to be one."

JoyAnna's eyes widened and before she or Shauna could say anything, she took off down the path - away from the building and towards Amity. Her friend's voice could still be heard calling her. In that moment though, fear gripped onto JoyAnna. She held the strap of her bag closely and her hair whipped around her face, her feet pushing her faster away from Shauna and Eric - away from the realization that she was just pretending to fit in.

* * *

Eric tapped his pen against his desk before glancing out the floor to ceiling glass wall of his room. Then again, every room in Erudite had glass walls. There were very few buildings were the rooms were enclosed.

JoyAnna had taken off so quickly that he couldn't catch up with her. By the time he got to the steps outside, she had already said her 'goodbyes' to Shauna and was on her way back home.

He wished he could talk to her, apologize for whatever it was that he said. With a sigh he dropped the pen and ran his hands over his face. Things were better before - when he didn't talk. Because now that he did, now that he could say what he was thinking or feeling, he would upset her. And he didn't like upsetting her.

"Detecting a visitor at the front door," the computerized voice stated.

Eric sighed again and pushed himself out of the chair and away from his desk before walking out of his room. He went through the hall of his mother's apartment and towards the front door. Glancing quickly at her door, he noticed that she was not home - yet again. She had been staying - or working, depending on which way you would look at it - at Jeanine's lab recently.

Nights like this he felt truly alone with no one to support him, turn to or confide in. And he hated it. Eric wondered what other young men were doing on nights like this. Perhaps they had girlfriends, the same way Edward had Myra. Perhaps they had friends, like how the Dauntless hung out with one another, pushing and wrestling, laughing and teasing. There was truly nothing to do, but whatever his mother and Aunt wanted him to do.

He pressed the code as the door slid open.

His heart skipped a beat - not in excitement, but out of fear - at seeing the person there. "What are you doing here?"

"I came in behalf of a friend," she sucked in a breath and turned to look down the hallway before pushing her way into the apartment. She looked about the area, the small living space as Eric pressed the code to slide the door shut. "Are your parents home or..."

"It's only me and my mother," Eric answered.

Shauna turned and nodded. "You need to go and see JoyAnna."

"Did she send you?"

"No, not exactly," Shauna shook her head and looked down.

"How did you even get here?"

"I'm Dauntless," she replied as though that were the answer for everything. Eric blinked at her as she rolled her eyes and walked towards his kitchen. Opening his mother's refrigerator, she reached in and grabbed the nearest bottle of liquid to drink before immediately spitting it back out. "You're kidding me! This is actually that fizzy nonsense that you Noses rave about?"

Eric huffed, narrowing his eyes at her and folding his arms over his chest.

Shauna - being the outspoken Dauntless and possible friend of his - simply rolled her eyes. Rolled her eyes, he shouted in his head.

"She looked distraught when we last spoke."

"Look at you, using big words," Eric leaned against the wall.

"Shut up," Shauna pointed her finger at Eric as she walked past him with a bottle of water this time in her hand. She sat down on his mother's couch and crossed one leg over the other, leaning back as she took a sip and letting out a sigh of relief. "Now that is good water!"

"Dauntless," Eric reminded her.

She sat up and turned to look at him. "I just took a train to get here, okay? Had to hide from a few guards. They don't let dependents out late at night since that incident at the wall."

"As well they shouldn't. It's dangerous out there. And..."

"It's also 'hella' fun."

Hella, Eric thought. First, he was using speech from an Amity, now he was going to pick up Dauntless terminology. What would his mother and his Aunt think of him then?

"Anyways," Shauna continued. "It was quite the adventure to get here, so forgive me if I'm a little parched of thirst." She lifted the bottle to her mouth, pointing at him the entire time. "And don't say a damn thing about my choice of words that time, Nose." Eric couldn't help but chuckle. "JoyAnna," Shauna repeated. "She was upset today."

"I know she was. She said that she's been distracted lately."

"Maybe you should ask her what that is about," she suggested.

"Don't you think I've tried that?"

Eric sighed and went to sit down by Shauna, looking defeated and forlorn. He had just started speaking to the girl, he wasn't so certain that he had the right words to say to her now. What could he say to her? The first couple days it was great, fantastic. They could converse about anything and everything. But now, it seemed like their conversations were cautious and forced. At least today seemed that way when he brought up Erudite.

"Sometimes girls don't want to talk it out, they just want a shoulder to cry on. I think something happened. Ever since she started dating Cain, things have been..."

"Don't say his name."

Shauna snapped her fingers. "See that," she pointed at him. "The two of you like each other. I know you do. But something is on her mind, weighing her down. And there's something that you're not being honest with her about either. And I truly think that that is what is affecting her and you."

"What are you some Amity counselor, now?"

"Who knows, maybe I was an Amity in a former life," she joked.

"A former life?"

"Yeah, weren't we just reading that in a book from Doctor Manzini," Shauna made a face as she said the Erudite Doctor's name. "I remember those classes because we talked about religion and beliefs. And there were people who believed that if you were good in this life then your next life would be hella great."

"Okay, stop saying 'hella'," Eric shook his head. "That's not even a real word. And I remember that class, so you don't need to explain it."

"But you asked."

"I did not ask."

"Yes, you did."

"I did not," he paused and bit his lip. It was useless arguing with Shauna. Half the time, she only did it because she enjoyed getting a reaction out of him. To her, he was just some nerd with his nose stuck in a book. That's why she pushed and prodded until he couldn't take it and they were arguing about something. Some friend, he snorted. "You're right," he held up a finger telling her to wait until he was finished. "I do like JoyAnna. And yes, there are things that I haven't told her, yet. And most of it is because I don't know how to say it and the rest of it is because I don't want to lose her."

"Then why don't you go and tell her that. I think you two need to talk it out or sex it out," she shrugged with one shoulder before drinking the entire bottle.

Eric didn't want to think about that. He had just started talking to her. Then again, he wasn't sure how the sex would work if she wasn't in the same faction as him. He wasn't sure how any relationship could work if they weren't in the same place. Silly Dauntless girl for coming over here and putting the idea in his head.

"Thanks for the water, by the way."

"I didn't offer you any," Eric chuckled.

"Is that the thanks I get for coming all the way over here in the middle of the night," Shauna stood with a smile. "I almost got caught. I could have gotten exiled beyond the wall."

"There's no such punishment."

"In Dauntless there might be."

"I highly doubt that," Eric stood up, still shaking his head at his friend.

"Go and talk to her, Eric. Right now, in fact. That's why I came," she jabbed a finger at his chest. "To kidnap you and take you to Amity."

Eric sighed and thought to himself, there was no use in prolonging it. "Let's go to Amity then."


End file.
